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Real-Estate Property Previews in VR

One of the areas where virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are becoming increasingly popular is for previewing products prior to a sale. This is especially valuable for high-ticket items such as cars, and even more so when buying real estate.

Japanese real estate firm AtHome Co, Ltd has recently introduced VR previews and panoramas for properties listed under its estate agent service AtHome Business Base.

AtHome Co, Ltd was originally formed in 1967, and currently hosts over 1.8 million listings for second-hand apartments and renovated mansions both for rent and sale. Customers who visit one of the 54,618 AtHome stores looking for a new home or investment properties will be able to don a VR headset to look around the available properties.
VR and AR are becoming popular methods to view properties, with companies such as Matterport producing VR software designed for use by real estate agencies and an increasing number of architects, designers and real estate agents engaging with VR as a means to offer a better service to customers.
A poll of consumers in America showed that 77% of US consumers were interested in a VR tour of a potential new home, and 62% said they would be more likely to use a real estate agent who could offer VR tours as part of the service.
With augmented reality (AR) customers have been interested in using the technology to design the perfect home, and see how furniture might look in a potential new home, or even test out different paint colours. Companies such as IKEA have begun offering this kind of feature as demand for AR increases.

As the required equipment cost for high-quality decreases, and demands for services such as VR tours an AR furniture increase, it is possible that the next house you buy might be first viewed through virtual reality. VRFocus will continue to keep you updated on VR use in business and retail.